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My Blog and I

My name is Diana. I am the blogger behind Offbeat Vagabond. I just
wanted something to help me rant on about things I love or don't quite
love. I am big on books, especially Urban
Fantasy, it is my favorite genre. Any Romance has to be Paranormal,
because love isn't natural without a gun and a beast involved. Although my tastes are very much expanding, I have discovered a love for Contemporary even BDSM (shocking!) I love
movies. Sci-fi/Fantasy/Horror/Action, pretty much anything as long as no
Romantic Comedies are involved (Katherine Heigl, you have been warned).
Music, TV, Wrestling are all my things as well (although I haven't been watching Wrestling as much as I used to). I am doing this for fun. I want to
write on a professional front, so blogging is a good stepping stone for
me. I just hope that stone doesn't have moss and I slip and break
something. So join me in my little piece of the Internet and remember,
it is normal to be abnormal

Evan
broke Cassie’s heart two months ago, and she still doesn’t know why.
She throws herself into family, friends and her new job at the sheriff’s
department, but nothing helps. The only thing that finally allows her
heal and move on is the love of a new man, mind mage Matthew Blair.
Cassie finds him... irresistible

Matthew may also be the only one
who can help keep the nonmagical residents of Eagle Rock from going
crazy over the murder of a beloved pastor’s wife. It looks like a
sorcerer is to blame, but while Cassie tries to figure out who, others
take matters into their own hands. With tensions running so hot, a
single spark might set Eagle Rock ablaze.

*********************************************

I am so in love with this series. It gets better and better with each book and this was no exception. Cassie is as brave and stubborn as ever. She has learned more than her fair share in the last book. Now she is surrounded by people that either want to use her or kill her. There is a pastor preaching a hate message about those with magic in the town and things are getting even more tense than usual. Worse yet, someone has killed the pastor's wife which has put fuel on the fire (no pun intended). Cassie now is in a world of trouble trying to crackdown on who it is and making sure the ones closest to her don't take the fall. This book is going to be very hard not to spoil. So much goes on throughout the series and it is continuing to build like crazy. Cassie has made some discoveries about her past in the last book and is working on trying to cope with it. Cassie is also trying to cope with leaving behind Evan. Evan has left her because of her father who still hates him and his family. Evan knows something he can't tell Cassie and is trying to protect, but it is very hard. But Cassie is trying to move on and so she is now dating someone else named Matthew. Matthew is the state senator and he also has a knack to read everyone's mind. I wasn't sure if I liked him or not. After everything Evan and Cassie have discovered about what happens to women with a trace of magic, I was suspicious. As you can imagine, so was Evan. His jealousy is instant. I couldn't blame him. I am an Evan fan, so I felt his pain. Cassie doesn't know what his deal is, but Evan can't possibly let her know what he knows. I loved all the action and the tension Amsden added in this book. The magical community versus the religious community was incredibly intense. Cassie is investigating the death of David from the last book. His death is quite a mystery and no one is absolutely sure about how he died and no one cares to find out given what the man did. Her investigation leads her to a church she wished she didn't have to visit again. The pastor, Pastor Roberts, does nothing but preach hate about the magic users (or witches) in their town and it starts to make people very crazy. While during this speech, the pastor's house blows up with his wife inside. Cassie needs to get to the bottom of it and has a feeling there is a connection somewhere, but she has to find it. Sadly though, it seems there are some politics at play. The pastor along with Cassie's father and Matthew and his father are all working on how to find the culprit, but in their own way. I love that with everything going on, Cassie keeps her wits about her. She is such a resilient character. She always has her head on straight, well, fore the most part. There are times in the book when her brain is on the verge of an idea or a thought and she can't figure it out, she can never complete it. It is like something is blocking her mind. This is a great series. It is perfect for both supernatural and mystery lovers alike. I have said it before and I will say it again, Amsden ability to mix both of the worlds is just brilliant. Her characters are easy to love especially Cassie. Cassie has got to be one of my favorite female leads in a book. I love how she thinks things through and sees everything from all angles. She is cool, calm, and collected. Despite the hand that life has dealt her, she bounces back like a champ. She is awesome, plain and simple. The relationship between her and Evan is worth cheering for, It seems like they can never catch a break, but you know it has to be coming. This book kept me on edge. This is one of those books you pick up and read for an afternoon and don't put down until you are done. If you haven't started this series, you don't know what you are missing. Get a move on people!

About Christine Amsden

Christine Amsden has been
writing science fiction and fantasy for as long as she can remember.
She loves to write and it is her dream that others will be inspired by
this love and by her stories. Speculative fiction is fun, magical, and
imaginative but great speculative fiction is about real people defining
themselves through extraordinary situations. Christine writes primarily
about people and it is in this way that she strives to make science
fiction and fantasy meaningful for everyone.
At the age of 16, Christine was diagnosed with Stargardt's Disease, a
condition that effects the retina and causes a loss of central vision.
She is now legally blind, but has not let this slow her down or get in
the way of her dreams. (You can learn more here.)

In addition to writing, Christine teaches workshops on writing at Savvy Authors.
She also does some freelance editing work.

Christine currently lives in the Kansas City area with her husband,
Austin, who has been her biggest fan and the key to her success. They
have two beautiful children.

I love this series too. Can't wait for the last one. But don't want it to end either. The action, the danger and the romance are so good and following Cassie as she matures and becomes so awesome has been wonderful. The author did a superb job and I'm wondering how she'll top this third one!

Due to the daily spam comments I have been getting lately and to avoid the annoying word verification, Anonymous comments are no more. I do not want bargains on bags, watches, jerseys, boots and other crap. Geez, they could at least spam me with book and movie stuff, I would be somewhat interested LOL! Thank you :D